Secrets In November
by J H. M. Lancell
Summary: A letter addressed to his deceased Mother. A man claiming to be his biological Father. A fragile bond tested between his Brothers. Everyone asking a million questions, having no answers.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own The Outsiders, all rights go to S. E. Hinton. **

**I write this for pure enjoyment, I do not obtain money from these fan-fics. **

**Enjoy, everyone :)**

**-Stay Gold.**

* * *

**Secrets in November **

**A letter addressed to his deceased Mother  
A man claiming to be his biological Father.  
A fragile bond tested between his Brothers.  
Asking a million questions, having no answers.**

**J. H. M. Lancell**

* * *

It all started with a letter.

A blank letter addressed from out of state, for his deceased mother. Ponyboy tossed the junk mail and bills on the table, keeping the mysterious one in his hand.

I should wait for Darry.

That was obvious. But, what if it was a friend of his late mother that didn't know of her death? What if it was nothing? Ponyboy's head was spinning and before he knew it, he found himself opening the mail.

There, sitting on the couch in his living room, his life changed.

**X x X**

"Any mail today, Ponyboy?" Darry asked, eating a mouthful of Sodapop's blue mashed potatoes.

How could he forget? "Erm. . . No." Ponyboy mumbled. He couldn't worry Darry with such nonsense._ It was nothing_, he lied to himself. _It's probably a joke Steve was playing_.

"Hey, Darry, can I go to a race with Steve? Please? We're not in the cars."

"Sodapop. Even if you weren't in a car, you'd find anyway to be in one." Darry sighed, "Be home at a reasonable time."

Sodapop thanked Darry and wolfed down his food.

Ponyboy picked at his, having lost his appetite a long time ago.

**X x X**

"Darry?" Ponyboy asks quietly.

For once it was just the two of them in the house. Darry read the paper in his chair while Ponyboy nestled close to him on the floor with a book. Darry looked down at Ponyboy from the paper. Ponyboy didn't look up, he stared straight forward at the wall, trying to find the words to even as Darry his question.

Whether it was the loss for words, or he didn't have the heart, Ponyboy didn't finish.

Darry mistook this for distress and told Ponyboy to wash up for bed.

**X x X**

In the bathroom, Ponyboy examined himself in the mirror.

Everyone tells him he looks like Sodapop. He could see it. Same chin, same nose and they even had the same forehead. Then again, Sodapop looked just like his mother, meaning those traits were also passed onto Ponyboy.

Ponyboy fearfully searched for any trace of his father on him.

His breath hitched when he found none.

**X x X**

Ponyboy couldn't fall asleep that night. Sodapop was still out with Steve, and he didn't want to bother Darry. Darry had enough on his plate already with taking care of him and Sodapop and working like a dog.

Still, this was so much for Ponyboy.

Ponyboy left his bed to return to his desk where he hid the letter under a flap in his desk drawer. He took it out, read it for the thousandth time that day and then shoved it away.

_It's a joke. It has to be a joke. Some sick game Steve is playing to get back at me for beating him at cards last week. Or maybe I owe Curly Shepard but forgot, I hear he does some twisted things to get what he wants_.

Oh, how Ponyboy wished this was just some pun. But no. It sounded too elaborate to be a lie.

Ponyboy closed his eyes tightly. The words floated all around his head.

**X x X**

_Lara,_

_This is the hundredth letter I have sent to you. I know you have to be getting these. I don't know why you are keeping him from me. You and I both know that what you are doing is childish, immature and it needs to stop. I deserve to see the boy! I don't care who Darryl Curtis is, I don't care how big he is, I am coming to Tulsa once more. I want to see him, Lara._

_I want to see my son._

_-James._

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**Alright. Good for a first start? Tell me what you think. I'll continue if I have a minimum of 10 reviews. **

**-Stay Gold **


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own The Outsiders, all rights go to S. E. Hinton. **

**I write this for pure enjoyment, I do not obtain money from these fan-fics. **

**Enjoy, everyone :)**

**-Stay Gold.**

* * *

**Secrets in November**

**J. H. M. Lancell**

* * *

He really didn't want to tell Darry, or Sodapop. They already had too much to worry about with bills and The State. But whoever James was, was coming to Tulsa. What if he came to their house?

Ponyboy nearly worried himself sick and kept to himself, deep in his thoughts. Steve nudged him.

"Hey, moron, will you pay attention?" His brother's best friend snapped.

Ponyboy glared. "Leave me alone."

"_I asked you a question_," Steve grit his teeth. "What's the answer to number ten?"

Ponyboy walked away from the kitchen table. Steve had only come over to see his homework answers as he was "blessed" to be in the same Math class as the other Greaser.

"Find it out yourself!" Ponyboy snapped, he wasn't even sure his answers were correct himself. He had been so warped up in the whole "letter mess" that he didn't pay attention in school, or anything else for that matter.

He was scared.

**X x X**

"Any mail?" Darry asked.

"Hadn't checked." Ponyboy answered.

"Well, why not?!" The older man demanded, already reaching for the mailbox.

Cause I'm afraid. "Didn't' know it was a chore." Ponyboy mumbled, earning a glare from his older brother and a warning to follow up.

"Don't get lippy, Ponyboy. I just asked a question." Darry shuffled through the mail for a moment, but then paused. Ponyboy's eyes widened and he felt his heart stop.

"Wh-what's wrong?" Ponyboy dared to ask.

Darry seemed to be looking at a white envelope and Ponyboy felt his stomach drop. Darry turned to Ponyboy, he didn't look too happy, but he didn't look like he'd blow a gasket.

"Report card." Darry replied, dimly.

Ponyboy felt a little better.

"Kitchen. Now."

**X x X**

Thankfully, it was good news. Darry was pleased to see Ponyboy had raised his grades from C's back up to A's and the threat of summer school was no longer needed seeing Ponyboy passed his English class with flying colors due to his book report.

"Keep it up and then you and I will talk about college." Darry continued on with his sentence while Ponyboy gazed on to the stack of papers in Darry's hand. What if there was another letter in there? What if-

"Ponyboy! Are you listening to me?"

Ponyboy looked up and Darry sighed.

". . . What am I going to do with you?"

**X x X**

Sodapop comes home from work, his first destination was the shower, but a whimper came to his hears and he turned his head to see Ponyboy, face down in the pillow, distressed.

"Ponyboy?" Sodapop asked, hurrying to his brother's side. "What's the matter, dear?"

I can tell Soda. Ponyboy thought. Soda knew the keep a secret, and I tell him everything anyway.

Ponyboy looked up, ready to confess, but Sodapop looked worried enough in his head. He couldn't tell Darry and now he doesn't have the heart to tell Sodapop.

"N-nothing."

"You know you can tell me anything."

". . . Yeah."

**X x X**

Ponyboy sat in the living room, running his fingers over the letter for the millionth time. He was all alone in the house, with Steve, Sodapop and Darry at work; if Two-bit were to drop by, he has a pillow ready to stash the letter behind before he sees it.

_I want to see my son. _

Who was it? It couldn't be Darry, he looked JUST LIKE their father. Sodapop was a close resemblance to their mother with the blonde hair and brown eyes. Ponyboy had been told often of how close he and Sodapop looked, but never has he heard a comment of looking like his father.

Ponyboy felt scared.

There was a rumbled outside and Ponyboy could only identify it as a Soc's Mustang or Corvette. He peeked outside his window and gulped. There seemed to be only one passenger in the white Mustang, Ponyboy couldn't see his face, but the car was driving really slow, as if whoever inside was looking for something, like a house.

The Auburn quickly locked the two windows by the door and the door itself. He sat down by the door in a fetical position and felt his heart race when he engine outside turn off and a car door slam shut. Ponyboy closed his eyes tightly, hearing the sound of boots clunking on the front porch until the he heard the door knock three times. Ponyboy held his breath and squeezed his eyes tighter. The knocking continued. Then stopped.

Ponyboy heard a sigh of defeat and then the footsteps faded away and the Mustang started up again, driving away.

**X x X**

_Tell Darry and Soda! They need to know right now! This guy knows where we live!_

Ponyboy was panicking. When dinnertime came, he was shaking.

"What's wrong, Ponyboy?" Darry asked.

"N-nothing." Ponyboy gulped.

"You got the chills or something?" Sodapop reached over to feel his forehead. Ponyboy shrunk away, "No, I-I'm fine!" He insisted.

"Ponyboy, what is going on?" Darry asked in a demanding tone of voice. Ponyboy didn't know where to begin. He knew Darry should know about the letter, Sodapop too. They should also more than be aware of what happened earlier that afternoon and why their youngest brother was so frightened.

"Um. . . ." Ponyboy bit his lip. "You see. . . . a few days ago."

Darry arched his eyebrow.

"I. . . I. . . "

"Did you break something?" Darry growled.

"No!" _More like something broke me_. "I didn't do anything. Something came and. . . and."

"And?!"

Ponyboy broke down. He didn't know what to do. Sodapop reached over and held Ponyboy close to him, shushing him to calm down and take a breather. When Ponyboy was calm, his eyes red and blotchy, he pulled the letter from his back pocket, handing it to Darry. Darry narrowed his eyes, "If this is a report card. . . " He mumbled before reading it.

There was silence and then laughter.

Ponyboy was confused.

"Oh, Ponyboy. Steve or Two-bit is probably pulling a prank on you." Darry laughed, handing the note over to Sodapop.

"Wha-what?" Ponyboy started, "No! Darry's it's true!"

"Ponyboy, trust me, you have nothing to worry about." Darry went back to his dinner. Ponyboy lowered his head, not before catching a glimpse of a worried Sodapop.

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**14 reviews?! I'm so ecstatic! Keep it up, everyone! :)**

**-Stay Gold **


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own The Outsiders, all rights go to S. E. Hinton. **

**I write this for pure enjoyment, I do not obtain money from these fan-fics. **

**Enjoy, everyone :)**

**-Stay Gold.**

* * *

**Secrets in November**

**J. H. M. Lancell**

* * *

"Hey ladies!" Two-bit Matthews called out to a group of blondes in a blue convertible, filling up their gas tank. "Which one of you lucky ladies gets to split a Coke with good ol' Two-bit?" He grinned.

The, obvious Socs, scoffed at Two-bit's offer, one even dared to speak at him. "Dream on, Greaser!"

"Oh, okay." Two-bit smirked, before he left he turned around to talk to the girls who turned him down: "Well, when I do, I'll think of something a little bit thinner!" He laughed, walking to the garage of The DX.

Two-bit whistled loudly at the sight of a new Mustang that currently, his buddy Sodapop Curtis was under. "Wow, she's a beauty."

Sodapop Curtis smirked, rolling from under the car. "Sure is, Two-bit. Hey, what time is it?"

"Almost five."

"Quitin time." Sodapop smiled, "Yo, Stevie, dinner at my place!"

The three Greasers wen't quiet when they left the store, normally they'd be excited for another vigorous night of looking for a fight, or maybe picking up a girl. However, tonight was different. Tonight, Darry had asked Sodapop if he could come straight home.

It was a request that Darry normally never asked of Sodapop, but it was actually Sodapop who wanted to get home as quick as possible.

"Why so quiet, Soda?" Two-bit asked.

Sodapop smirked, "Nothing. Just tired today, I guess."

"We didn't work that hard today." Steve pointed out. Sodapop ignored Steve's comment and took the stairs two at a time. "Darry! I'm home!" He called, looking around for his older brother. Sodapop beamed when he saw his little brother doing homework at his desk in the room they shared.

"Hey, Pones." He greeted.

Ponyboy slowly looked up, worrisome in his eyes. "Hey. . . " He replied back, slowly, resuming his homework. Sodapop stood in the doorway for a moment, smiling at the sight in front of him, hoping that nothing was tarnishing the innocence of his little brother.

"How was school?" Sodapop asked after a while.

That made Ponyboy smile, "Fine. Since when did you care about school? You going back?" Ponyboy asked, hopefully. Sodapop laughed, shaking his head.

"Nice try, Pony. Maybe another time." Sodapop didn't miss the frown on Ponyboy's face when he laughed. He didn't like school, it just wasn't for him. "Hey, is Darry home yet?" Sodapop asked.

Ponyboy shook his head. "No. But you're home early, is something wrong?"

Sodapop shook his head, reaching over to tassel the boy's hair, earning a scowl from his little brother. "Naw,everything's fine, Ponyboy. I'm just hungry, got any cake?" With that the blonde left the room in search of chocolate cake.

**X x X**

Ponyboy, seeing Sodapop had left, closed the door and sat against it, falling to the floor as he dug out yet ANOTHER letter addressed to his late mother. The envelope felt cold, and fat with probably a long, long letter inside. Ponyboy gulped. His mother was dead, but should he open in?

_Why do they send mail to the deceased anyway?_ He wondered.

Then he began to think, who would want to contact his mother? He tried to think of any of his parent's friends that might not know they're dead, or maybe they're family reaching out? Whatever solution Ponyboy came up with, either didn't make sense, or give him a good feeling. He sighed, hiding the letter among the many that he stashed away in his secret drawer.

He didn't want to open any more mail that wasn't his. Last time he did now has him doubting who he really is.

"Who's James?" He asked himself.

Too many questions, but no answers.

**X x X**

"Hi, Darry!" Sodapop called, seeing Darry walk into the kitchen from a long day at work. Darry nodded at him and began his usual ritual of taking off his shoes, work belt and dirty work shirt. Darry made his way to the bathroom, Sodapop trailing him.

"So-o-o. When can we talk?" Sodapop asked, rolling on the balls of his feet. Darry looked at his little brother with a face mixed with exhaustion, annoyance and confusion.

"Wha?" Darry asked, splashing his face with some water.

"Ponyboy. When can we talk about him?" Sodapop repeated. "Remember? Last night? He had a nightmare. . . I told you about it this morning?"

Darry tried to think back to that morning, which felt like forever ago, until he could clearly remember Sodapop bouncing up and down in his face asking for Darry to hurry home; Ponyboy had been sitting glumly at the table, poking his food and something about Two-bit calling out dirty jokes.

It took Darry a moment then he nodded, "Oh, well, we'll talk about it at dinner."

Sodapop shook his head, "Okay, but I'm cooking tonight. Blue mashed potatoes!" He cried out, almost in a warning to anyone else in the house who didn't like them as much as he did.

Two-bit, Steve, and Ponyboy were called to the table and the five Greasers all sat down and began eating. Two-bit and Steve had no trouble gobbling down their food. Sodapop noticed how Ponyboy was poking at his dinner and cleared his throat.

"Ponyboy, you haven't eaten much, is everything okay?" He asked, concerned.

Ponyboy flashed Sodapop a smile and began eating. Sodapop looked across the table at Darry and nodded his head towards' Ponyboy, hoping his older brother would get the hint to approach his little brother.

"So, Ponyboy. Anything in the mail?" Darry asked.

Ponyboy paled. ". . . No." He lied. "Just bills. They're on the counter." Darry saw the stack, but he could see through the Greaser's little lie.

"Anything else?" He asked. "How's school going?"

_Tell them! Tell them all about the letters from this 'James' guy, about the car coming, the stranger at the door, tell them everything!_ Ponyboy screamed at himself. All eyes were on Ponyboy now, Darry and Sodapop's concerned glances, Two-Bit's lost stare and the anxious light in Steve's of hopes that the kid would be in trouble. Ponyboy swallowed all the fear and sickness in his throat and gave a smile.

"No." He lied, again.

That was it.

Sodapop slammed his fit on the table, alarming everyone at the table.

"Who's playing a joke on him?!" This was not like Sodapop at all. _What happened to the carefree boy just a second ago?_ everyone wondered. However, when it came to his family, the blonde was not one to take matters lightly. He pointed to Steve.

"Was it you?!" He accused.

"What did I do?" Steve asked.

"You?!" Sodapop glared at Two-bit, who stuffed a dinner roll in his mouth, shaking his head 'no', he was just as lost as Steve was.

"Sodapop, what's going on?" Darry asked. Sodapop huffed and turned to Ponyboy to demand an answer from the auburn when there was a knock at the door. Everyone jumped and Darry stood up to answer the door. Ponyboy leaped from his chair and hugged Darry's left leg.

"Ponyboy!" Darry cried, trying to wiggle the boy off.

"Don't answer it!" Ponyboy cried. _It's him! He's back! _

Darry had no idea what had gotten into his kid-brothers, but with or without Ponyboy, he was going to answer the door. So he trudged the boy along on his leg and opened the door.

**X x X**

_Dear Lara, _

_This is the final letter I'm sending. You can't keep me from him anymore. Fourteen Years is too long for a boy to go without his father-his REAL father. Call Darrel Curtis and have his little buddies rally around me, I don't care. I'm coming over to see my son! You know just as much as I do that he's mine too! _

_-James._

With that, the letter was stamped, licked shut, and slammed into a mail box. The man was about six-foot-two, with his deep-rusty hair combed back. He opened the side of his white Impala and drove off on to the busy street. It has been years since he left Tulsa, now he'd do it with his son.

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**27 reviews?! I'm so ecstatic! Keep it up, everyone! :)**

**-Stay Gold **


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